Olympic Gold: Are the medals made of real gold and how are they made?

Olympic champion is one of the most iconic sporting titles in the world and the gold medals that come with it are treasured by athletes. 

It's something that money can't buy, representative of four years of hard work and first class performances against the rest of the world. 

Each Olympics has it's own medal design and Tokyo is no different, featuring an extra special twist. 

Here's everything you need to know about the Olympic gold medals and whether they are, in fact, truly "gold". 

Are the Olympic gold medals made of real gold?

This year's Tokyo medals have had quite the journey to take on their final form. 

Since 2017, old mobile phones and electronic devices have been collected from across Japan as part of the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project. 

From the 78 tonnes of devices collected, gold, silver and bronze was extracted to craft the 5,000 medals for this year's games. 

90% of Japan's towns and cities contributed devices, allowing the whole country to get involved in the Olympic effort. 

In fact, the design for the medal was even submitted by a member of the Japanese public after a competition received over 400 entries. 

The medals are meant to reflect the energy of the athletes competing and their supporters by reflecting different lights.

They also aim to set the standard for games to come and particularly for Paris 2024, where the main themes of the games include enhancing the environment. 

The medals may only be 1.34% solid gold, but the good news is that it means athletes posing for the famous 'biting the medal' photo won't leave an indentation as would happen with pure gold. 

Are the medals worth money? 

The medals are not worth much money for their form alone, however some athletes who have chosen to sell their medals have earned huge amounts. 

In these cases, the money comes from the reputation of the athlete and the fact that specific individual has won the medal, rather than the make up of the medal itself.